Atlético Ottawa

Atlético Ottawa is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at TD Place.[2] The team was founded in 2020 by Spanish club Atlético Madrid.

Atlético Ottawa
Full nameAtlético Ottawa
Nickname(s)Ottleti[1]
FoundedJanuary 29, 2020 (2020-01-29)
StadiumTD Place, Ottawa
Capacity24,000
OwnerAtlético Madrid
CEOFernando Lopez
PresidentJeff Hunt
CoachCarlos González
LeagueCanadian Premier League
2023Regular season, 6th
Playoffs, did not qualify
WebsiteClub website
Active departments of Atlético Madrid
Football
(Men's)		 Football B
(Men's)		 Football Youth
(Men's)
Football
(Women's)		 Football
in Canada		 Football
in Mexico

History

From 2014 to 2019, Ottawa Fury FC competed in American-based soccer leagues, most recently the USL Championship.[3] The Fury dissolved after the 2019 season due to sanctioning issues associated with competing in the United States with the emergence of the domestic Canadian Premier League.[4] This left Ottawa without a professional soccer team heading into the 2020 season.

Moments after kick-off at Atlético Ottawa's first home game on August 14, 2021

On January 29, 2020, it was announced that Ottawa had been awarded the Canadian Premier League's first expansion team to be owned by Spanish club Atlético Madrid with Ottawa businessman Jeff Hunt as a strategic partner.[5] The club debuted in the 2020 Canadian Premier League season under the name Atlético Ottawa.[6][7]

The club's identity, including name, crest, and colours, was unveiled on February 11, 2020.[7][8] The day was proclaimed "Atlético Ottawa Day" by Ottawa mayor Jim Watson.[9] Mista was announced as the first head coach and general manager of the club.[7]

As of their inaugural season, Atlético Ottawa home and away games are broadcast on OneSoccer, and on TSN1200 in radio format.

After playing the 2020 season and start of the 2021 season at neutral-site venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlético Ottawa made their home debut on August 14, 2021. Over 12,000 spectators were in attendance as Ottawa defeated the HFX Wanderers 2–1.[10]

Following a 3–1 victory over Cavalry FC on September 24, 2022, Atlético Ottawa qualified for the Canadian Premier League playoffs for the first time.[11] On October 8, 2022, Atlético Ottawa clinched the 2022 CPL regular season championship.[12]

Stadium

Atlético Ottawa play at TD Place at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa. The stadium is shared with the Ottawa Redblacks Canadian football team and formerly hosted Ottawa Fury FC and hosted nine matches from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.[13]

Crest and colours

The club's identity is based upon that of its parent club, Atlético Madrid. The crest features a blue silhouette of the Peace Tower on Ottawa's Parliament Hill. Underneath are red and white stripes, evoking Atlético Madrid's crest and Canada's flag. At the base of the crest is a maple leaf. The club's alternate logo is a canoe paddle crossed by two arrows, taken from the Coat of arms of Ottawa, with the monogram "AO".[14]

Like Atlético Madrid, the club's colours are red, white, and blue (branded by the club as "federal red", "blanc d'Ottawa", and "Rideau blue").[14]

Club culture

Supporters

Atlético Ottawa's two main supporters groups are the Capital City Supporters Group (CCSG) and the Bytown Boys. The two groups are located in Section W of TD Place during home games and have gained a reputation for being a leading example for supporters culture in the Canadian Premier League.[15]

Some notable introductions to the gameday atmosphere from the supporters include Wally, an inflatable dinosaur that has become an adoptive mascot of the supporters section, the "Olliewood" sign on the eastern hill of TD Place, in honour of 2022 CPL Player of the Year Ollie Bassett, and wide variety of characters strewn about the supporters section in non-traditional matchday garb.[15]

The support for the club has continued to grow and manifested in a record crowd of 14,992 for the 2022 Canadian Premier League Final against Forge FC. This marked the largest paid attendance for any Atlético Ottawa match to date.[16]

Honours

Players and staff

Squad
As of July 28, 2023[18]
No. Position Player Nation
1 GK Sean Melvin  Canada
3 DF Macdonald Niba  Cameroon
4 DF Diego Espejo (on loan from Atlético Madrid B)  Spain
5 DF Luke Singh (on loan from Toronto FC)  Trinidad and Tobago
7 FW Gianni dos Santos  Cape Verde
9 FW Carl Haworth  Canada
10 MF Ollie Bassett  Northern Ireland
11 MF Noah Verhoeven  Canada
14 MF Jean-Aniel Assi (on loan from CF Montréal)  Canada
15 DF Maxim Tissot  Canada
16 DF Zach Verhoven  Canada
17 DF Miguel Acosta  Spain
18 FW Samuel Salter  Canada
19 FW Malcolm Shaw  Trinidad and Tobago
20 DF Karl Ouimette  Canada
21 MF Alberto Zapater  Spain
23 DF Tyr Walker  Canada
26 MF Omar Darwish  Canada
29 GK Nathan Ingham  Canada
30 MF Gabriel Antinoro  Brazil
46 DF Zachary Roy  Canada
91 DF Aboubakary Sacko  France
96 MF Ilias Iliadis (on loan from CF Montréal)  Greece
99 FW Rubén del Campo  Switzerland

Staff
As of April 12, 2023[19][20][21][22]
Executive
CEO Spain Fernando Lopez
President Canada Jeff Hunt
Senior director, soccer operations / match director Canada Carrie McKay
Director, soccer operations Canada JD Ulanowski
Coaching staff
Head coach Spain Carlos González
Assistant coach / physical preparation lead Spain David Galán
Assistant coach Canada Kwesi Loney
Goalkeeping coach Spain Borja Montero
Team manager Canada Drew Beckie

Head coaches
As of October 7, 2023
Coach Nation Tenure Record
GWDLWin %
Mista  Spain February 11, 2020 – December 28, 2021[23] 36 8 10 18 022.22
Carlos González  Spain February 24, 2022[21] – present 60 25 16 19 041.67

Club captains
Years Name Nation
2020 Ben Fisk  Canada
2021 Milovan Kapor  Canada
2021–2022 Drew Beckie  Canada
2023–present Carl Haworth[24]  Canada

Records

Year-by-year
Season League Playoffs CC Continental Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
DivLeague PldWDLGFGAGDPtsPPGPos.NameGoals
2020a 1CPL 7223712−581.147th DNQ DNQ Ineligible N/A Mexico Francisco Acuña
Canada Malcolm Shaw		 2
2021 CPL 2868143047−17260.938th DNQ PR DNQ 3,618 Canada Malcolm Shaw 10
2022 CPL 281310536297491.781st RU PR DNQ 4,069 Northern Ireland Ollie Bassett 8
2023 CPL 281061238344361.296th DNQ QF N/A 4,959 Northern Ireland Ollie Bassett 12

1. Average attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league season, league playoffs, Canadian Championship, CONCACAF League, and other competitive continental matches.
a: Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the season was held exclusively in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, without fans formatted as a double round robin season with a single match final[25]

Most appearances
As of October 7, 2023
# Name Nation Career at club Games played
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Miguel Acosta  Spain 2021– 81 4 0 85
2 Malcolm Shaw  Trinidad and Tobago 2020– 80 3 0 83
3 Zach Verhoven  Canada 2021– 62 3 0 65
4 Ben McKendry  Canada 2020–2022 59 1 0 60
Ollie Bassett  Northern Ireland 2022– 57 3 0 60
6 Brian Wright  Canada 2021–2022 51 2 0 53
7 Nathan Ingham  Canada 2022– 50 2 0 52
8 Diego Espejo  Spain 2022– 47 3 0 50
9 Maxim Tissot  Canada 2022– 45 2 0 47
10 Drew Beckie  Canada 2021–2022 44 2 0 46

Note: Bold indicates active player

Most goals
As of September 18, 2023
# Name Nation Career at club Goals scored
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Ollie Bassett  Northern Ireland 2022– 19 1 0 20
2 Malcolm Shaw  Trinidad and Tobago 2020– 17 2 0 19
3 Brian Wright  Canada 2021–2022 13 1 0 14
4 Ballou Tabla  Canada 2022 7 0 0 7
Zach Verhoven  Canada 2021– 7 0 0 7
Sam Salter  Canada 2023– 7 0 0 7
7 Maxim Tissot  Canada 2022– 5 1 0 6
8 Miguel Acosta  Spain 2021– 4 0 0 4
9 Viti Martínez  Spain 2020–2021 2 1 0 3
Ryan Telfer  Trinidad and Tobago 2021 3 0 0 3
Carl Haworth  Canada 2022– 3 0 0 3

Note: Bold indicates active player

Most assists
As of September 2, 2023
# Name Nation Career at club Assists
CPL Cup Int'l Total
1 Zach Verhoven  Canada 2021– 9 0 0 9
Carl Haworth  Canada 2022– 8 1 0 9
3 Miguel Acosta  Spain 2021– 6 0 0 6
Ollie Bassett  Northern Ireland 2022– 6 0 0 6
5 Ballou Tabla  Canada 2022 4 0 0 4
Malcolm Shaw  Trinidad and Tobago 2020– 4 0 0 4
Jean-Aniel Assi  Canada 2023- 3 1 0 4
8 Ben McKendry  Canada 2020–2022 3 0 0 3
Brian Wright  Canada 2021–2022 3 0 0 3
Gianni dos Santos  Cape Verde 2023- 2 1 0 3

Note: Bold indicates active player

Note: 5 others tied at 2

References
  1. Bedakian, Armen (February 11, 2020). "'Main challenge is time': Atlético Ottawa firing on all cylinders ahead of 2020 kick-off". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  2. "Canadian Premier League awards 1st Expansion Team to Ottawa". Canadian Premier League. January 29, 2020. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  3. Vlasveld, Mike (January 29, 2020). "Ottawa getting pro soccer back, this time in Canadian Premier League". OttawaMatters. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  4. Mazur, Alexandra (November 8, 2019). "Ottawa Fury FC forced to suspend operations over league 'politics,' says president". Global News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  5. "CPL awards expansion team to Ottawa for 2020 season". Sportsnet. Canadian Press. January 29, 2020. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  6. "Pro soccer returning to Ottawa this spring". CBC News. Ottawa. January 29, 2020. Archived from the original on February 1, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. Woods, Michael (February 11, 2020). "Ottawa's new soccer team is called Atletico Ottawa". CTV News. Ottawa. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2020. The city's newest sports franchise is called Atletico Ottawa, it was announced Tuesday ... The club also announced its first head coach and general manager: Mista,
  8. Molinaro, John (February 11, 2020). "CPL officially unveils Atlético Ottawa, as pro soccer returns to nation's capital". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  9. Watson, Jim (February 11, 2020). "Pleased to proclaim 'Atletico Ottawa Day' ahead of a big announcement at noon! @CPLsoccer @atletienglish @TD_Place". Twitter. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  10. The Canadian Press (August 14, 2021). "Atlético Ottawa defeats HFX Wanderers with late goal in 1st-ever home game". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  11. CanPL.ca (September 24, 2021). "HIGHLIGHTS: Atlético Ottawa clinch playoff spot for first time in club history with win over Cavalry". CanPL.ca. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  12. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (October 8, 2022). "Atlético Ottawa win 2022 CPL regular season title". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  13. "Ottawa". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 12, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  14. "Emblem Inspiration". Atlético Ottawa. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  15. Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre. "BIG READ: How supporters helped turn Atletico Ottawa's MASSIVE dreams into reality in 2022". onesoccer.ca. OneSoccer. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  16. Rhodes, Benedict (December 5, 2022). "'I'm not going anywhere': Atlético Ottawa captain Drew Beckie announces retirement". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  17. "Atlético Ottawa win 2022 CPL regular season title". CanPL.ca. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  18. "Roster". Atlético Ottawa. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. "Atlético Ottawa CEO Fernando Lopez pens open letter to club's fans". September 27, 2020. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  20. "ATLÉTICO OTTAWA: OWNERSHIP PROFILE". Atlético Ottawa. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  21. "Atlético Ottawa names Carlos González as new Head Coach". Atlético Ottawa. February 24, 2022. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  22. "Atlético Ottawa announce Drew Beckie as Team Manager". Atlético Ottawa. December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  23. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. - Mista". Atlético Ottawa. December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  24. "Carl Haworth named Atlético Ottawa club captain with new captain group announced". Atlético Ottawa. April 15, 2023. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  25. "Canadian Premier League". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
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